Dylan and Cole Sprouse kicked off their careers in Hollywood as babies,
and they've grown up to be multi-talented renaissance men.
Here is the transformation of Dylan and Cole Sprouse from babies to 29.
The Sprouse twins were born on Aug. 4, 1992, in Italy, and then raised in Southern California.
Dylan is 15 minutes older than Cole, but the boys were in sync from the early days,
embarking on their acting careers when they were still infants. Cole and Dylan took turns
playing Patrick Kelly on ABC's "Grace Under Fire" from 1993 to 1998. Tim Gray mused to “Variety,”
"As Grace's 8-month-old, it's impossible to tell at this point
if Dylan and Cole Sprouse are the Olsen twins of tomorrow."
Cole told “The New York Post” in 2017,
"Twins work really well in the industry because child labor laws dictate a baby, as an example,
can only work for, like, an hour a day. So [with twins], the production doubles
the amount of time they can work with a kid. So having two identical twin boys,
my mom was, like, 'All right, you golden ticket — let's sell it!'"
Though Cole had memories of his life on the "Grace Under Fire" set,
he didn't watch the series. The Sprouse brothers continued to
"sell it" as they matured into out-going lads with loads of personality.
Dylan and Cole Sprouse made it to the big screen in 1999
as Julian in "Big Daddy," opposite Adam Sandler. The film grossed over $234,000,000 worldwide.
“Hey! Good job, buddy! He’s peeing on his own. Keep it flowing, that’s it!”
In 2018, Dylan Sprouse reacted to his and Cole's
childhood "Big Daddy" press interview with MTV. He shared,
"It's funny how different we really are at this age. We had our own language,
too, we would speak to each other [...] just babble back and forth."
The little Sprouses can be seen in the old MTV clip making armpit noises
and arguing over who did the most scenes. Aww.
Cole certainly remembers that time in his life, as well. In “Vogue's” "73 Questions
with Cole Sprouse," the actor shared that Adam Sandler was one of his mentors. He explained,
"It was the way that he was always in love with production,
and he worked with his friends and his family and was still able to turn and
do more independent films and artistic films while balancing commercialism."
Cole also said of "Big Daddy,"
"It was this huge production, and I was six, and I got to see New York City for the first time."
He agreed in the "73 Questions" interview that "Big Daddy" might
have been an inspiration for his return to New York later.
The next popular Sprouse project actually only featured one twin:
Cole. Beginning in 2000, Cole Sprouse took up the recurring role of Ben Geller,
Ross' first child, on a very big '90s sitcom. It might seem odd that Dylan Sprouse wasn't included,
but Cole explained some logistics of the casting situation for "Friends."
In a witty “GQ” video interview, Cole answered internet questions undercover.
He explored a Wikipedia entry about his solo gig on "Friends," and stated,
"Honestly, our appearance as the same character was sort of dependent on how
much screen time we had. In 'Friends,' for example, my role was not too present. They
really only needed to hire one twin because both of us were incredibly expensive."
Cole Sprouse has also made the news for revealing his childhood crush on
Jennifer Aniston. Cole shared on "The Drew Barrymore Show,"
"I was teased a little bit by the crew, because they saw it, and I would just
forget and be looking at her [...] the whole world had a crush on Jennifer Aniston."
Barrymore responded by saying that the whole world had a crush on him,
too. But what about Dylan? Even though he wasn't on the sitcom with his brother,
the two still found plenty of work together.
As grade school kids, Cole and Dylan Sprouse were in a few movies together and started growing into
young stardom. They split the part of Justin in "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" in 2001.
In 2003, the Sprouses played twins in "Just for Kicks," a direct-to-video release that
they've also tweeted about. A fan started it with a photo of the DVD in 2016, writing,
"@dylansprouse @colesprouse this is just in my garage."
Dylan Sprouse replied to the fan and tagged Cole saying that it’s right where it belongs.
Cole, on the other hand, chimed in with a real zinger. He said,
"Did you misspell garbage*."
Following their least favorite soccer film,
Dylan and Cole Sprouse would become known to an even wider audience of kids.
Ah, "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody." As Dylan Sprouse told “The New York Times,”
"So, we finally get to work together."
This sitcom enchanted young Disney Channel viewers by bringing them
into the world of The Tipton, a luxury hotel in Boston managed by
Marion Moseby. Mr. Moseby is met with the twin antics of Zack and Cody Martin, who live on the
twenty-third floor with their mother, Carey, who is the hotel's resident cabaret singer.
The rambunctious boys interact with the hotel staff on a daily basis and befriend
teen heiress London Tipton and candy counter girl Maddie Fitzpatrick. There's always a new
comedic scenario for the twins as they make the hotel their home sweet home.
“What have you done!?” “Mom!”
Beginning in 2005, amused fans loved watching Dylan and Cole Sprouse as Zack and Cody,
respectively. As their Disney Channel days were just starting,
Dylan told “The Chicago Tribune” what a normal day was like:
"Get up, go to work, which isn't really work because it's more fun than work,
go home, play some video games, feed the cats and then go to bed."
Cole added,
"Besides working on the show, it's just a normal, typical day.
On the weekends, we see our friends. We're not secluded from the world."
When one elevator door closes, another opens. Such was the fate of the Sprouses' suite life.
Fans were excited that they wouldn't have to bid Zack and Cody farewell just yet. "The Suite Life
on Deck" premiered a few weeks after the series finale of "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" in 2008.
The spin-off took the teenage twins out to sea on the S.S. Tipton. Mr. Moseby, played by Phill
Lewis, made the jump to the fancy cruise liner, as did London Tipton, played by Brenda Song.
The gang was joined by new faces like Bailey Pickett, played by Debby Ryan and later Maya
Bennett, played by Zoey Deutch. Disney Channel President Gary Marsh told “The New York Times,”
"This move really is an acknowledgment that the
boys have changed, from rambunctious moppets to full-fledged teenagers."
He expected the teen characters' increased freedom
to interest audiences. Cole Sprouse told “People Magazine,”
"We wanted to keep the same vibe and really show fans that it's still Zack and Cody,
but just growing up a little bit more."
Cole and Dylan had already spent many years with their characters,
and Dylan said he and his brother were a, quote, “gentle blend” of both Zack and Cody.
"The Suite Life on Deck" continued to ride the waves of the late 2000s,
when "Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana" debuted in 2009.
This Disney Channel triple crossover took after the original "Suite Life," which
included an iconic special called "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" in 2006.
2010 marked five years of the "Suite Life" franchise. The original fans,
much like the stars on screen, had matured considerably. The Disney Channel was nearing
a necessary pivot, as its key talent prepared for new ventures. Like other shows of its kind,
"The Suite Life on Deck" got its own Disney Channel Original Movie.
"The Suite Life Movie" premiered in March 2011, and the last episode of the series aired in May
of that year — a high school graduation theme, of course. Cole Sprouse told “GQ,”
"In the year between 'The Suite Life on Deck' and my foray into higher education,
my brother and I both worked as interns at [LA comics store] Meltdown, where I started
doing some photography, and I also worked behind the counter selling comics for a bit."
After so many years aboard the S.S. Tipton,
it seemed that Dylan and Cole were ready to brave the sea changes life brings.
College was next for Cole and Dylan Sprouse. According to “Teen Vogue,” the brothers considered
splitting off and heading to different schools, but they stayed together in the end. Cole shared,
"We really wanted to get out of LA, and we wanted to study in [the] city. We chose NYU because their
arts program was great and they're a prestigious institution [...] You're involved in a completely
different way of life [...] Right after the show had ended, we were being hounded. So we
really wanted to step out and fade away from the industry and, you know, we were pleasantly
surprised at how often people reached out wondering what we were doing and where we were."
The Sprouses were immersed in New York City and college life, but that didn't stop people from
noticing them, especially a “Seventeen” writer who lived right next to one of the twins. He said,
"Dylan Sprouse, star of 'The Suite Life of Zack & Cody,' nodded and said 'hey,'
then breezed past me down the hall. It all happened so fast I barely had
time to come to grips with what was happening."
It sounds like the beginning of a romance novel, but Dylan seemed to be a pretty typical hall mate.
Cole kept busy with his photography and launched a website that is now
archived. He used Tumblr for sociological experimentation that was also later archived
by fans. Both seem to try and live relatively normal college lives.
Following his college graduation, Cole Sprouse was an archaeological
assistant to a Brooklyn artifact laboratory. Sprouse told “Glamour,”
"I was working in a basement, and there was no sun. I was like a little treasure goblin,
and I ended up getting a request to fly out to L.A. and audition for Archie."
At the "Riverdale" reading, he fell in love with Jughead's character, and the rest is history — the
star was announced as Jughead Jones in 2016, with "Riverdale" debuting in 2017.
Dylan Sprouse came back to acting, too,
just in a different arena. Dylan outlined to “Vulture,” saying,
"I think Cole's in a place where he's very happy right now [...] whereas I
would be happiest doing more films with a lower budget — independent, expressive,
really small-scale. I tend to enjoy roles that I very closely identify with:
fringe people and complicated characters, who might even be bad guys, or bad characters that
have one redeeming quality. That's closer to my idea of what my acting trajectory should be."
He has been a voiceover artist on video games and worked on independent films. Funny enough, the
brothers couldn't resist poking fun at each other about their acting careers. Cole tweeted in 2017,
"@dylansprouse were you Zack or Cody?"
Dylan replied to Cole,
"I don't remember actually. I was too busy carrying the show on my back."
The twin, who played Zack, was also busy crafting All-Wise Meadery in 2017, officially launching the
label in 2018. Dylan's had many other projects on the rise and told “The Daily Beast” in 2021,
"I feel like my voice is louder than it has been,
but I don't feel like people are fully seeing me for who I am as a creative yet."
In addition to films like "Tyger Tyger" and "After We Collided," the actor created
a comic book series for Heavy Metal called "Sun Eater." Cole told “Variety” in 2019,
"It was inevitable that my brother and I eventually decided to pursue different
parts of the industry [...] He and I don't really look too similar anymore,
so we can't really do the whole kitschy twin thing."
That being said, Dylan and Cole Sprouse are clearly individuals who appreciate
each other as twins. While they may have found their own diverse career paths and
creative journeys, we will always be grateful for the times they spent on screen together.
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